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Software Patents. Jules Theeuwes University of Amsterdam Scientific Council for Government Policies Open Forum on Draft SPLT Geneva, Friday, March 3, 2006. Topics. Dutch position on software patents Economic Analysis of Patent Law Different Life for Software Patents? Evaluation.
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Software Patents Jules Theeuwes University of Amsterdam Scientific Council for Government Policies Open Forum on Draft SPLT Geneva, Friday, March 3, 2006
Topics • Dutch position on software patents • Economic Analysis of Patent Law • Different Life for Software Patents? • Evaluation
Dutch position on software patents • Same regime as other patents • “Socially acceptable” • No trivial patents • Doubts about business methods • Stress interoperability • Level playing field (SME)
Economic analysis of patent life • Balance between benefits and cost to society • Benefits: • More invention, creativity, R&D • But at decreasing rate over time • Costs • Monopoly losses • Limits to further developments • At an increasing rate over time
Costs and benefits of patent life € MSC MSB T* Patent Life (years)
Different life for software patents? • Returns to scale kick in immediately • Exclusive rights on standards very costly • Relation to innovation is maybe weak • Patent battle: costly equilibrium
Cost of being different • More transaction costs • More confusion in the courts • Substitution to computer implemented inventions (hardware)
Conclusions • Take a second look at Dutch position • Do cost benefit analysis